A humpback whale stranded on a sandbank near Lübeck on Germany’s Baltic coast has successfully freed itself after days of rescue efforts. The 12–15m-long whale was first spotted near Timmendorfer Strand earlier this week, prompting a large-scale operation by marine biologists, coast guards, and rescue teams to guide it back to deeper water.

Rescuers used diggers to create a channel and worked under floodlights to help the whale move toward open sea. By Friday morning, the whale had swum about 300 meters offshore into deeper waters, raising hopes that it will continue toward safer waters. Marine biologist Robert Marc Lehmann said the whale regained strength overnight and managed to free itself from the sandbank.

Experts remain cautious as the whale still has netting lodged in its mouth and could not be fitted with a tracking device due to its weak condition. Authorities are escorting the whale with boats and hope it will swim north toward Denmark and eventually reach the North Sea and Atlantic, its natural habitat.

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